Mississippi pauses cannabis yeast and mold testing requirement. Read why

Medical cannabis growers and testing labs in Mississippi now have until Oct. 29 to prepare for new flower testing standards that initially went into effect in July.

The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program, overseen by the Mississippi State Department of Health, released a new 60-day pause on yeast- and mold-testing standards on Aug. 30 after several medical cannabis testing lab owners, growers and dispensary owners said the new testing regulations were hurting growers, costing them more money and so needed more time to prepare.

Several other states with medical cannabis programs already have yeast and mold testing requirements and regulations to limit the amount found in flower.

"The Mississippi State Department of Health’s decision to extend the grace period for implementation of (yeast and mold) testing by 60 days (is) to allow licensed medical cannabis establishments additional time to prepare for (yeast and mold) testing, (provide) the steps that licensed medical cannabis establishments may take as preventative measures to ensure the cultivation and production of safe, compliant medical cannabis products, and the methods of sterilization/remediation that may be considered and/or undertaken by licensees," The Aug. 30 release states.

The release, which was sent to licensed cannabis businesses and provided to the Clarion Ledger, also reenforced the importance of the testing standard to keep the public safe.

"The testing ensures that products are free from harmful levels of these contaminants, which can lead to infections and other health complications. Compliance with (yeast and mold) testing is essential to meet regulatory safety standards and to protect public health," the release states.

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During an August meeting at the Mississippi State Capitol Building, growers specifically pointed out that if they fail a yeast and mold test for a batch of flower, under previous regulation, they could not have that product cleansed and then retested. Their only option at the time was to distill the product into oils and then resell it at a much lower profit margin, Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association Executive Director Henry Crisler told the Clarion Ledger in August.

Lab owners also said several unforeseen circumstances, such as an enormous amount of flower needing to be retested during the first six months of 2024 due to a testing failure at Rapid Analytics, a lab that has since closed, left smaller businesses unprepared for the new testing regulation that went active in July.

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Crisler told the Clarion Ledger on Tuesday the new testing pause will allow for labs to receive state-required third-party testing certifications. It will also give time for growers to identify pre-testing cleaning methods, businesses or equipment to do the product cleaning, new grow methods to prevent yeast and mold and adjust for the costs.

"I think it would also give (growers) enough time to explore their (testing options)," Crisler said.

As part of the new pause, MSDH also released new guidelines to have flower cleaned and resent for testing, as well as have previous tests conducted for yeast and mold before having it officially checked at a lab.

As part of those guidelines, the release includes several approved remediation methods to clean flower, which can be found in the report.

After speaking with growers, medical cannabis advocates and testing labs, the Clarion Ledger found that no matter what, the new yeast and mold testing requirements will cost growers money to comply, which could be tough on smaller operations with less cash on hand than larger growers to afford expensive cleaning equipment.

State Health Officer Daniel Edney, who told medical cannabis business owners at the August meeting he planned to implement a new pause to allow for growers to catch up, did not answer several requests for comment by press time Wednesday.

Crisler said for growers wanting to know more about cost-effective ways to adjust to the new testing regulation, the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association is having an information meeting at Hal and Mal's in Jackson at 1 p.m. on Sept. 28. The event is free and open to the public.

Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: MS cannabis growers get 60 days to catch up to new testing standard